Chapter 307

“To sum me up in one phrase, I’m an idol.”

I casually pushed my long hair behind my ear while looking out the window.

“But as an idol, I guess I have to consider my diet every moment; that can’t be helped.”

In my hand was a franchise coffee.

“For someone like me, this low-calorie Americano is truly a grateful source of power and joy.”

As I brought it closer, the rich aroma of roasted beans wafted gently up my nose.

“What’s with you drinking coffee for a change?”

“Oh, Do-hee has a coffee ad this time.”

“Why don’t you just stick to your strawberry latte like always?”

“Why are you all like this? Do-hee is putting in the effort for work; you should be supportive and commend her!”

“Sis, I think I’m the most commendable person in the world.”

“I also think I’m the most commendable!”

“Honestly, I might be the most commendable too?”

Yeah, I guess I can describe this aroma like this.

“It has such a rich chocolate scent that feels almost like dark chocolate? Just like you.”

I tapped my finger against the glass.

“Hi. Quality~?”

“How ridiculous.”

“Isn’t that coffee 1500 won?”

“Yep.”

Anyway, I’ve savored the aroma long enough, so it’s time to taste it.

I boldly placed my crimson lips on the cup with elegance.

Sip-sip.

“Mmm~ this unique acidity.”

And elegantly,

“It’s bitter…”

I spat it into a tissue.

Almost spat it on the floor.

“Do-hee.”

The manager, who had been watching this sequence of events, wore a strange expression.

“How about this?”

But Young-ho, who I’ve known for almost nine years now, wouldn’t be the one to give me a hint.

“Do-hee loves lattes, right? If you add milk, it becomes really smooth and you won’t taste the bitterness much.”

He was just waiting to offer his help.

“Ah? Caffè e latte?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Caffè latte.”

Let’s be honest: Americano is simply too challenging for a beginner like me.

“Mmm~”

However, what about this smooth body and cohesion?

“Oh, industry award.”

I spat it back into the cup.

Tasted like coffee with just added milk, ugh.

“Chiyo, where did you learn to say that again?”

“Is it a day or two? I probably saw it on YouTube.”

“No way! Woo-ah taught me.”

“…Woo-ah?”

The manager handed me another new coffee this time.

“Is this a caramel macchiato?”

“Yep, this one will definitely be good! You know? Super sweet.”

Yeah, drinks should be sweet.

Why would you drink bland coffee?

“Of course, Do-hee doesn’t like her macchiato too sweet, so I adjusted the syrup-.”

“Do-hee, macchiato, hahaha.”

Oh, Young-ho, you clever one.

You even pick up on puns in real life.

“…Do-hee?”

Anyway, it’s a sweet drink, so…
As sweet as the drink is.

This time, I boldly stuffed it all into my mouth.

“Oh?”

“Right? It’s not bad, right? Apparently, this product for the ad is zero sugar but made sweeter than the regular mix. It’s almost similar to a macchiato in taste.”

“…Ugh.”

“Does this not sit well with you either?”

My stomach is churning and I feel nauseous.

“Ah, I really can’t drink this… I can chug energy drinks but why can’t I handle coffee?”

I still feel a bit queasy, and meanwhile, Kim Seo-yoon shamelessly grabbed my cheeks, happy as ever.

“Why do you think? It’s because you have a baby’s taste.”

What is she talking about? I don’t have a picky veggie-eating habit like Park Ye-eun.

“Kim Seo-yoon, drink my leftover coffee set of three.”

“Get that filthy stuff away.”

Kim Seo-yoon shoves aside my precious coffees, lovingly smeared with my lip balm.

“Oh, rewards, rewards~”

“Chiyo, are you really going to drink that—… Why do you want to give it to me?”

“I’m giving it to you, Unni. A reward.”

All those cups were taken away by Chiyo Unni, clutching them in her dainty hands like she was tossing them.

“Why not? Should I mix in some of Chiyo’s too? Double rewards?”

“This isn’t what I imagined group life would be like…”

Anyway, I can’t do this.

“I guess I have no choice but to decline the coffee advertisement.”

“Really, is it impossible? The director really wanted you to do it… Do-hee, think about it again.”

“Coffee just doesn’t agree with me. Someone who can’t drink coffee doing a coffee ad would get a ton of hate, you know?”

“Still…”

The manager sighed subtly.

Could it be that the director is putting pressure on the manager?

No way…

“Oh, manager! How much are they offering for that coffee ad anyway~ Positive thinking!”

“Well, it’s not my ad~”

But still, that’s not fair.

Manager, we’re on the same team after all.

“I’ll talk to the director tomorrow at the meeting.”

Anyway, what’s important right now isn’t some trivial coffee ad.

[Me: Coffee]

[Lira: ??]

Since it’s the period we’re getting responses from overseas.

I need to solidify my foundation even more.

[Me: I got a coffee ad offer but I declined it]

[Lira: ?? OOO?]

Anyway, aiming for the top as an idol is basically about following in the footsteps of Coral Blue or NND (NND).

[Me: So getting a coffee ad is pretty much the same as taking one]

[Lira: ;; OK congrats]

Honestly, coffee is really no concern at all.

*

[Info/News] Today on global Spotify

[24th SAME/DEBONAIR] ▲5

3,145,912 + 72,120

─ The number of users has never dropped even once; it’s growing every day ㄷㄷ

─ Topist doesn’t have a group to take cues from, so why are they doing so well?

└ Especially since the company doesn’t even promote them; it’s just pure interest ㅇㅇ

─ Is Debonaire doing something big this time?

└ Yup, last Sweet Demon had a peak user count of 2.73 million.
Oh, last time Sweet Demon hit a record high of 2.73 million users!

└Wow, I thought it would do better!

└Some male idol fandom was biting and tearing at it.

Every day, a high point in my career!

It was truly a grand festival for the fans.

Bae Ha-young was no exception.

“I’ll fall back in today!”

The album dropped, and there was barely a moment to rest.

It’s already the third week of activities, but I’ve been enjoying it like crazy!

“How can I not jam when the beautiful voice of a guilty woman flows from a wolf girl’s face?!”

First, let’s talk about the main title from weeks one to two, SAME.

[#Fancam Lab Debonaire… SAME]

From the colorful suits in the music video…

To a white and black striped prison outfit…

And a chicly modern leather skirt coordinate, etc.

Dol Ahyee @Dol_Ahyee

─Is this what it means to have feminine power??? Even in tomboy styling, I can be max alpha female… totally crushed!

The various stage outfits, carefully crafted just like the conceptual song’s vibe, ignited buzz!

[4th Gen Girl Group Instagram Follower Rankings]

The members’ SNS followers have been rising rapidly day by day.

─Seo-yoon is in 4th place!

─Why does Debonaire’s follower count skyrocket like this?

Seo-yoon surpassed 10 million, and even the newer members long ago crossed 5 million.

─Last time, when Do-hee tagged Woo-ah with that friendship ring they made in elementary school, Woo-ah gained 300,000 followers that day!

Especially, Do-hee stood out as massively popular.

─What’s up with I Do-hee, having 25 million on her own???

└Check out the views on Do-hee’s piano performance video, LOL!

─Eun Se-ra is in second place, but she’s 8 million behind, whoa!

─Honestly, it’s a fact that more than half of the overseas traffic is going to the label, but I Do-hee is rising purely on her own skills, LOL!

└Basic follower stats show a higher ratio of Korean fans than other idols!

That’s definitely something that boosts pride among the fans.

Above all, even if the culture is slightly waning in interest, the most effective challenge for promotion is still going viral through short forms!

Dol Ahyee @Dol_Ahyee

─Seriously, her dance point is insane… No need to go hard, she’s just dancing her own dance, in her own world! That’s my world!

The outcome of that is that the members naturally climb the global chart rankings without having to engage in any extra actions.

[20th SAME/DEBONAIRE] ▲1

3,351,525 + 21,304

─At this rate, they might actually hit the Billboard, whoa!

└They’ve already entered the Billboard 200! The ranking is steadily creeping up too!!

─Are they really going to make it to Billboard??

─Great albums get recognized eventually, it’s just a matter of time.

Even if they don’t live abroad, everyone is aware that it’s quietly gaining word-of-mouth.

“It would be nice if it rose… but I think it might be tough.”

However, even the most passionate fan, Bae Ha-young, didn’t dare to nurture expectations of making it onto the Billboard main 100 chart while looking at the buzzing comments.
I didn’t really expect it to make it onto the Billboard Hot 100, even while watching.

“Do-hee has like 25 million on Instagram, what more do you want?”

At first glance, it might seem that her recognition is at a sufficient level.

“Looking at Google’s overseas search traffic, Do-hee comes right after Lira and has even surpassed the Coral Blue members.”

However, that didn’t necessarily reflect interest in the group Debonaire.

If Do-hee were to debut as a solo artist, that might be different, but among her Instagram followers, not many seem to care about which group she belongs to.

Foreigners might have followed her purely because of her overwhelming beauty, or they might know her as a pianist from her performance videos, or even recognize her as a famous model or influencer who is an ambassador for Chanel and Cartier.

This was starkly shown in the number of users on the U.S. Spotify chart.

[79th PLACE SAME/DEBONAIR] ▲1

341,946 + 1120

Anyone could see this was a disappointing number compared to global charts.

Bae Ha-young, being a fan, was quick to blame the agency.

“This is all because Topist snatched an excessively talented member!”

The issue with the distribution company for songs became even more apparent when looking abroad.

“Well, Topist’s management hasn’t been bad lately… But what can we do about the facts?”

Rather than blaming structural limitations, Bae Ha-young decided to just enjoy her activities, browsing the internet for more news about Debonaire.

Then she suddenly stumbled upon a surprising rumor.

—Looks like Debonaire is about to land a big overseas contract; if things go well, they might even make it onto Billboard, and Do-hee turned down a coffee advertisement, which is shocking since no celebrity has ever rejected before, lol.

└Is there any proof?

└Believe it or not.

└A café brand ad? Or maybe instant coffee?

└It’s instant coffee, so they must be freaking out over there too, haha. No one has rejected an endorsement so far, lol.

└So why did she reject it, haha?

└She can’t drink coffee, lol. That’s kind of cute.

└Wow, this random rumor suddenly seems credible; did you do a little research?

Bae Ha-young burst into laughter at the rumor, but quickly brushed it off.

“These kinds of insider posts aren’t exactly rare.”

There were just too many rumors in the idol scene to pay attention to every single one.

However, a few days later, Bae Ha-young couldn’t help but widen her eyes when checking the news.

[Topist Debonaire signs partnership with U.S. Warner Music ‘Attacking North America and Billboard’]

“…What?”

It was exactly the article that the rumor had hinted at.

Big news about a contract that might actually help them target Billboard.

And that meant…

“…Did she really turn it down because she can’t drink coffee? No way, the kind of mix coffee ad like Maxim? Really?”

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